Fashion

The Creepiest Historical Clothing of All Time

Happy Halloween, Bustle readers. Perhaps you clicked innocently on the Fashion + Beauty tab at the top of this page because you were hoping for some chic snaps and smart tips, like where to buy the best cozy socks, or easy ways to keep your cheeks bright.

Unfortunately, you've come to the wrong slideshow.

Clothing has not always been a warm and fuzzy refuge from horror. As a matter of fact, sometimes clothing is the source of the horror, designed to absolutely immobilize people with fear, as in sacrificial Druid robes. Or sometimes the clothing itself seems to be cursed — the source of some terrible black magic. Either way, you won't want to wear any of the following garments ever again.

by Tori Telfer

Rosalia Lombardo's hair bow

What an adorable, drowsy little girl, right? SHE'S BEEN DEAD FOR ALMOST ONE HUNDRED YEARS.

When little Rosalia died at age 2, her father was so heartbroken that he asked a noted Italian embalmer to immortalize her forever. Good call on the father's part, because the embalmer did a really, really, really great job.

The Brontë Sisters' Dresses

The literary Brontës weren't all brains and introspection. They lead really creepy, depressing lives: Their house was surrounded by a graveyard, their father was domineering, their brother was a raging drunk, and some speculate that Emily Brontë died from drinking water contaminated by graveyard runoff. Tasty! The chilling solitude of the Brontës' lives was reflected in their stature; they were all extremely small. If you visit their house, you can see their tiny pale dresses, which apparently look like they could be worn by a child.

Jackie Kennedy's Pink Suit

Jackie Kennedy was wearing this pink Chanel suit when her husband was shot in the head right next to her. Though the suit was spattered with his blood, she repeatedly refused to take it off during the horrible haze that followed, saying, "Oh, no ... I want them to see what they have done to Jack." In this heartbreaking photo, while she watches Lyndon B. Johnson get sworn in, her dress, leg, and glove are caked with her dead husband's blood, and her expression is shell-shocked. Today, the Chanel suit is kept in a windowless room in an undisclosed location. It was never cleaned.

The Women's Clothing at Catacombe dei Cappuccini

If you're ever in Sicily with nothing to do, consider visiting the Catacombe dei Cappuccini, a nightmarish tourist attraction that was once the hippest burial spot in town. People genuinely wanted to be interred there, along with their mummified friends, and sometimes requested specific outfits to be buried in, or asked their offspring to change their clothing at regular intervals. It's like Fashion Week over there! This particular green dress really brings out her... cheekbones.

Taxidermy Clothing

How adorable are these tiny dead squirrel cowboys? Answer: horrifying. Taxidermy is one thing, but dressing up dead animals in people clothes is next level creepy.

Isadora Duncan's Scarf Collection

The famous dancer loved her long, flowy scarves, and was often photographed with them. In retrospect, photos like this one are terribly ironic, because a flowing scarf was what killed Isadora — as she and a friend drove off in an open-air car, her beloved scarf caught in the wheels. She was flung out onto the pavement with the scarf still around her neck.

All Children's Clothing in Vintage Photos

It doesn't matter how cute the kid or the dress is. They all want to eat your soul.

Image: Lex Machina/flickr

Postmortem Photography Outfits

Pop quiz: Which of these cheerful Victorians is the dead one?

In the 19th century, death was, well, more of a household event. Since photography was so rare, and childhood death so common, people often saved that special photoshoot for after death. They would dress the corpses up, prop their eyes open, and pose. This sweet photo shows two parents having a quiet moment with their dead teenager and her pearls...

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